Okay, I finished level one of SaySomethingin Spanish (25 lessons about 20 to 30 minutes each) in about a week and here is my assessment;
Fantastic!
In the past 8 months I have completed and reviewed, a few times, listen and repeat programs, have read over 100 children's books, have read over 200 news articles and a few Spanish texts. (Yes, I count everything and my wife calls me Numbers - No Joke!). I am currently slogging my way through Pimsluer (level B). So, I have exposed myself to a lot of different programs and I have put in the time to finish them. As you can guess, I didn't know if this program would help me.
I was presently surprised!
SaySomethingin Spanish helped me fill in the gaps immediately that I have been missing in other programs. I liked the fact that the material takes you into deep water quickly, but not in a way that overwhelms you. I knew a majority of the words already, however, the construction, placements and usage is what I valued most as I can plug and mix and match later. After the very first lesson I could feel my fluency increase, immediately.
It was that simple. Additionally, the 2x the speed listening sessions for each fifth session is revolutionary. Especially, since a few programs that offer sped up listening, charges for them as a different course and don't include it as a part of training for the actual course they offer. After the 10th listening session I went back to the fifth lesson and it felt as if I could literally grab words out of the air. Each time I listen to them, Spanish I hear spoken elsewhere seems much slower and I like that! After lesson twenty, one of the podcasts I listen to at its intermediate level felt like listening to 'paint dry.' I had to turn it off and jump to the advance podcasts because I didn't have the patience to wait for them to talk so slow. I can't wait to hear 3x speed!
Bravo SaySomethingin!!
Now, I do not know how a raw beginner would fare because I had a strong background coming in. However, I do know that if you have some basic training this course will be perfect for you. I plan to go back over the 25 lessons again in the next two weeks to sear the speaking style it uses into my brain and will be adding it to my regular rotation over the next few months for a refresher.
A few more points:
-I appreciated the length of the pauses that allows you to think about the answer. Many programs do not give you enough of a chance to think and I believe that does the learner a disservice.
-I liked the use of spaced repetition.
-I liked the use of two different speakers (saying it slightly differently).
-Each lesson builds on the next and he encourages you to move forward and not repeat.
-I liked the fact that he encouraged me along the way and let me know I was headed into advanced territory, but would be okay.
-I don't feel marketed to and I feel that I received a fair trade.
-You don't get insulted with material that is too easy...
-I liked the cost ($13.27 equivalent of 9 British Sterling Pounds).
-Oh yeah, I liked the book (H.I.L.T.), which introduced me to the course (free Kindle Unlimited/.99 cents otherwise).
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Nos vemos el proximo tiempo!
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Bakari Akil is a Professor of Communication, blogs for Psychology Today and has authored many books on Communication and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. This is his experience learning Spanish.
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